It has been widely reported that, in the aftermath of the horrific Earthquake in Haiti, many survivors have been praying in faith for God to hear their cries and to help them, their family and their friends. Many of us have joined in the chorus of those prayers and should continue to, but we also need to do more. We need to be part of the answer to that prayer. There will be time for discussion, and reflection later, but now is a time for action. At Calvary, here is our initial action response:

1. Giving: Calvary is making an initial donation of $1,000 to help with immediate relief. Rebecca and I are also discussing what we can personally do, and I would encourage each person at Calvary to do the same. To help as many people as possible get involved with this, we are also working out a creative "gold for bread" program in which your gold can be donated and converted to cash for relief efforts. [Details forthcoming]

2. Going: We intend to send a short-terms missions team to help meet practical needs (construction, medical, etc,) in the near future. There will probably be an immediate global response to Haiti that will be overwhelming, but that will taper off over time. We hope to go in a few months when the initial response wanes some but the need remains strong. We will probably partner with another church in CT that has much more experience organizing trips like this for maximum effectiveness. If you would like to consider being a part of a team please e-mail Dave Swanson, our missions/outreach coordinator and he'll keep you informed.

Let's act and serve Jesus by serving the "the least of these" when they need it the most.

“Then these righteous ones will reply, ‘Lord, when did we ever see you hungry and feed you? Or thirsty and give you something to drink? Or a stranger and show you hospitality? Or naked and give you clothing? When did we ever see you sick or in prison, and visit you?’ And the King will tell them, ‘I assure you, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me!’" (Matthew 25:37-40 NLT)